We all know that our oceans are very important; they are harbingers of life and stabilizers of the world’s temperature, an important breeding ground for diverse organisms at all levels of the food chain. We also all know that there is plastic in our oceans, but what we don’t all know is why that is bad- for ocean life and for us. I present to you a diagram of the molecule tetrabromobisphenol A or TBBPA, a common plasticizer and flame retardant found in epoxy resins in computer chips. It’s also commonly used as an additive in many plastics, and its use is widespread among the manufacturing industry. This substance is very toxic, and it wouldn’t be much of a concern if its synthesis, use, and degradation were part of a closed system that we were not associated with. But we are; plastics such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, or ABS plastic contain this as a flame retardant, and when these products are thrown away, TBBPA can be introduced into our ecosystem through improper waste management. Plastics containing TBBPA become smaller in the ocean, and the increased surface area of smaller particles allows for the attachment of other organic compounds, not all of them good. These tiny particles of plastic are then eaten by fish and other aquatic life; filter feeders such as krill and crabs are especially at risk for ingesting particles. As you can imagine, plastics work their way up the food chain, along with their toxic additives. This doesn’t bode well for the life span of marine life, and especially doesn’t bode well for us. I direct your attention to the space-filling model of thyroxine, T4, a thyroid hormone used to regulate metabolism, gene expression, and neural activity among other processes. Thyroxine is just one molecule in the body that is part of the endocrine system, which regulates many, many things in your body. TBBPA disrupts the endocrine system by mimicking molecules like thyroxine, impeding real thyroxine by inhibitorily binding to its receptors, and altering the production levels of thyroid hormones. Changes in hormone balance can cause a wide variety of abnormal states in the human body; the irritability of people with PMS or who are pregnant is a prime example of fluctuating hormones. TBBPA also has developmental and reproductive effects; in humans it has been shown to lead to increased aggression, an early onset of puberty, changes in mammary gland development, lower levels of testosterone in males as well as lower levels of sperm production and potency, and an increased risk for type II diabetes and heart disease. TBBPA is just one of many harmful toxins used in the manufacturing industry that makes its way into our oceans. With hope and more importantly action, it is possible to keep TBBPA and other toxins like it out of the oceans, out of our food, and out of our bodies.
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